Wanna Race World Supersport?

By Paul Carruthers | 9/29/2011 7:51 AM

Want to go World Supersport racing? You can jump on a Parkalgar Honda next year if you're good enough. And if you pony up $550,000.Performance Technical Racing Ltd. (PTR), the owners of the Parkalgar Honda and Bogdanka PTR World Supersport teams, are searching for an "aspiring World Supersport Champion" to race its bikes in 2012.The Parkalgar team has been successful with Eugene Laverty winning 12 of 25 races during the 2009-2010 season en route to runner-up finishes in both title chases. In 2011, Sam Lowes has been on the podium several times and he will return to the team as one of the series favorites next year; and James Ellison, on the Bogdanka PTR Honda, came close to winning the ninth round of the series at Nurburgring.But the caveat for joining the team... "the fact is they will need talent and money to get the seat," the release from PTR states.

"PTR has a proven track record of producing what is the best Supersport Honda in the world and winning races and scoring podiums on a regular basis," PTR director Simon Buckmaster stated in the release. "The pedigree is there and we have an opening for a single racer for 2012 to join us and ride our bike. The opportunity is strong - just look at Eugene Laverty who is now a World Superbike race winner and fighting for the championship podium. He re-launched his career with us and is now an established star. We want to hear from aspiring World Champions who have the confidence and ability to win races and want to make a professional career in racing.

"The rider will have to bring money for the seat, though - that is the reality of motorcycle racing in these very difficult financial times. However, the return for any sponsors or backers they have is enormous as we can offer full branding and sponsor benefits of a front running team within the package - typically we have delivered between 8:1 and 11:1 return on investment over the last three years for our existing sponsors, so as a sports marketing platform it is very strong and cost effective."The anticipated finance level to compete in the 14-round 2012 World Supersport Championship is a "cost-effective, career-catapulting €350,000 [roughly $550,000]."Interested parties can contact PTR at info@performancetechnicalracing.com.

Paul Carruthers took over as the editor of Cycle News in 1993 after serving as associate editor since starting his career at the publication in 1985. Carruthers has covered every facet of the sport in his near-28-year tenure at America's Daily Motorcycle News Source.